What an important life lesson for little ones to learn early on in life! Gwen throws temper tantrums whenever she wants something and doesn't get her own way. She constantly demands things which puts much stress on her mother due to her ungrateful attitude. Gwen's attitude gradually begins to change when she looks around at other kid's behaviours and finds out how blessed she really is.

On the way to school she grumps about the lunch her mom packs for her. It doesn't make her drool. At recess she finds a sad little boy with tears in his eyes who has nothing to eat. She realizes then how blessed she is. Gwen wants to wear her favourite coat but throws a hissy fit when she finds out that it is still unwashed in the laundry. At the playground later on she sees a little girl shivering in the cold on a swing. She doesn't have a coat or jacket to wear and Gwen knows she is truly blessed to own her warm, coat. Through many more meaningful encounters Gwen learns to be thankful for what she has, realizing that so many other kids do not have the things that she takes for granted.

The book is written in rhyme and the illustrations are colourful and expressive. Rhyming teaches kids the playful rhythm of language and to learn to read with expression. "Gwen's Gratitude" teaches kids morals and appreciative etiquette. Being grateful for receiving acts of kindness from others, whether they are big or small, is a beautiful virtue to embrace. The publisher has listed the take-aways from sharing and discussing this book :

* Gratitude is everywhere - ABUNDANCE.
* Be thankful for what you have - APPRECIATION.
* Reflect on your actions and change your behaviour accordingly - CHANGE.
* The importance of an apology when mistakes are made - ASK FOR FORGIVNESS.


I love the book and highly recommend it!

Gwen learns a valuable lesson on thanksgiving. You may not like Gwen when you first meet her but she is a great example on how we can be ungrateful when we get angry when things do not go our way. It is a book on contrast. Seeing our own blessing and not being thankful and then seeing others that have far less or suffering because they do not have.

With the help of her mother, she begins to realize how thankfulness leads to better things.

A special thank you to Books to Hook Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Gwen’s Gratitude is a cute book by Marie Zhang. Gwen’s Gratitude tells the story of Gwen, a girl who has trouble being thankful. In the story Gwen tends to grumble about things until she sees someone in a worse situation than she is. Gwen then realizes how blessed she is. Despite being blessed, she continues to grumble. I liked how the author kept Gwen as a grumbler and let’s the reader know that sometimes it’s hard to be thankful, but we need to try. I liked the lesson the book teaches and believe it would be good to read in any story time setting. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. My review is also on Goodreads.

This book is about gratitude and being thankful for what you have, especially when knowing that others often have less. The story is made up of rhyming cuplets, two sentences per page, with some repetition. I think this would be a good book for early readers in the Kindergarten to Grade 2 range and for lessons on appreciating what you have. My only wish might have been for the little girl in the story to not just learn the message of gratitude but also about giving back to others who are less fortunate. In the story she interacts with children who have no lunch, parents can't afford to buy certain things and children without proper outerwear. While gratitude in itself is important, generosity is also something that needs to be taught and that would have made this story a little bit better in my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A story with a very important lesson for everyone, not just for children.

Gwen has a blessed life but she is not satisfied when things don’t go as per her wishes. But she watches some other children who don’t seem as privileged as she is, she realises that is blessed and she must learn to be happy with what she receives than constantly demanding more.

The book is written in simple rhythmic prose. The rhymes seem a little forced in a couple of cases but are otherwise well-written. The language is also very simple for early readers to understand.

The story is formed of four little incidents, each indicating Gwen’s problematic attitude and then her realisation about how she should change her thinking. I felt a continuity problem in one of the segments but it doesn’t much impact the message. And that is the main reason why the book ought to be picked up. In today’s world, children have become used to asking more and more, and parents go on fulfilling their materialistic demands in the name of love. This is not only a wasteful attitude but also an ungrateful attitude. The book gets kids’ thinking back on the right track. (And will hopefully rectify some adults’ thinking as well.)

The illustrations are bright and sweet and they suit the story perfectly.

This would work well in homes, schools as well as libraries. Definitely recommended.

4.25 stars.


My thanks to Books to Hook Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC of “Gwen's Gratitude”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Gwen is an ungrateful little girl. Zhang has taken one of the big challenges in parenting and turned it into an adorably illustrated tale of learning to be happy with what you have.

In a rhythmic rhyming prose, Zhang shows numerous examples of gratitude for a main character who starts out with a big attitude. Gwen sees other children and their behavior and learns to be thankful for what is already in front of her rather than being angry about things that don't go her way. It is a valuable lesson that is a perfect read aloud for classrooms and families to use to facilitate a discussion on gratitude. It shares the importance of not taking things for granted and valuing what we have.

This story was both entertaining and educational, which can be a tricky balance to maintain in a children’s book, and I will be suggesting it to teachers whenever possible. Incorporating social-emotional skills and topics such as this into children's picture books is a tried and true way to teach an important life skill in a way that is fun. This would be an amazing addition for classroom libraries, counselling offices and more.

Gratitude can be hard for kids to understand but this book does a good job of giving examples of gratitude that children can relate to. The illustrations did a good job of supporting the text.

Such a wonderfully illustrated book with a lesson of gratitude to learn. The book follows Gwen, a little girl that is very ungrateful for the things she has until she witnesses other children on how they behave and the things that they do not have. I highly recommend this book to kids of all ages. Thanks to #netgalley for the early review copy and I read this book for the #picturethis2022 event fulfilling the prompt - Red.

Gwen’s gratitude is a sweet story about a girl who realizes just how blessed she truly is. The situations are easy to relate to and are all age appropriate. The text is an easy read and has a rhyming element to it to make it an easy read aloud.

A delightful read about being thankful and appreciative of the little blessings in life that we often that for granted! While this might be a picture book for kids, I feel that it will resonate deeply with adults like myself too as we all can do with a reminder on gratitude from time to time.

The illustrations made this an even cuter and lovelier read. I enjoyed the rhymes but some of them felt forced, however, especially the final line. "She will try her best to recall" sounds very awkward and odd. But overall, it's a great book with much to learn from.